MIKE MORAN: Expect a not-so-special U.S. Senate election

Just in case you missed it, there was an election in Massachusetts last week. And chances are you did miss it. Lots of people did. More accurately, most people did. The primary phase of this not-so-special special election whittled down the list of five candidates running for U.S. Senate to two. Not ma...

Just in case you missed it, there was an election in Massachusetts last week. And chances are you did miss it. Lots of people did. More accurately, most people did.

The primary phase of this not-so-special special election whittled down the list of five candidates running for U.S. Senate to two. Not many people noticed. That includes registered voters who you might expect would pay attention to such things. But in this case, not so much.

Fall River, for example, had 9 percent voter turnout. That’s what you get in a small town local election when the only contested race is for tree warden. Our city’s participation resembled nothing like the rock ‘em sock ‘em battles that make Fall River an amazing place to observe politics. The statewide numbers were higher, but not by a lot.

Some have attributed the low turnout to the April 15 terrorist bombing in Boston, a connection I can’t really see. Other blamed the time of year, assuming that people are unaccustomed to voting in April. Sure, there are a lot of excuses, most of them pretty lame.

So now that the stage is set for the final election, can we expect some real excitement as the candidates make their way down the homestretch? Don’t count on it. On June 25, when this one wraps up, Massachusetts residents may be more interested in the Red Sox vs. Rockies series at Fenway.

And what will Part 2 of the campaign be like? The answer may be found in the victory speeches made by Democrat Ed Markey and Republican Gabriel Gomez at the end of Part 1. Both winners were heard tossing out clichés that are likely to repeat endlessly for weeks like the skip of a scratchy old vinyl record album.

Gomez will call himself “a new kind of Republican.” As it turns out, he’s the kind who scares the old kind of Republicans. That’s because he supported President Obama in 2008, favors same-sex marriage and, while he claims to personally be pro-life, is not interested in overturning Roe v. Wade.

Markey will tout his “track record of bipartisanship that gets results.” He’ll probably say that the tough times ahead of us are too important to trust an untested newcomer. Just what you would expect from a guy who has served in Washington since Jimmy Carter was president.

Gomez will call Markey a “career politician,” while reminding you of his own youth, fresh ideas and military background. Markey will say that his opponent is owned by special interests and Tea Party Republicans.

The press releases for both of these guys almost write themselves.

So here’s what the low turnout in April gave us: Two candidates who have not yet generated the enthusiasm needed to get big numbers to the polls in the final election. And unless one of them can create something that motivates and excites us, April’s poor showing will be repeated in June.

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Even so, there is never a really good excuse for registered voters to simply watch from the sidelines. I’ve voted often in elections when none of the candidates made my heart skip a beat; when the announcement of the winners created no high fives, no tears of joy, and no real sense of excitement.

I recall many elections when the candidates I supported won. Despite that, it was not a celebratory moment; I simply chose the ones I disliked the least. What we have before us in June’s special election may be a textbook example of this. But even if the choices are less than perfect, one of these two candidates will win.

The 91 percent of Fall River voters who took a pass during the April primary, and their equally indifferent counterparts throughout the Bay State, need to think about what they should do on June 25.

They need to stop, think, read, listen and make plans to vote next month. They need to mark their calendars as a reminder. And they also need to consider whether true patriotism is found in fireworks and barbeques, or perhaps something more meaningful — like voting.